By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — The Rockford Police Department has added five officers to its ranks as it works to overcome a staffing shortage that has persisted for nearly four years.
The department swore in four new recruits and one veteran officer from Tennessee with 16 years experience during a ceremony Friday at Veterans Memorial Hall in downtown.
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The new recruits will spend the next four months at the Police Training Institute in Champaign before they return to Rockford for more training here. Even then, the department’s ranks will be at 282 out of an authorized 302.
Investigator Katy Statler, a recruiter with the police department, said that it’s not uncommon for the department to be about 10 officers below its authorized strength. However, it’s been about 20 or more since the coronavirus pandemic took hold in March 2020.
“That is too low. If I’m within 10 I feel more comfortable, and it’s been about three years since we’ve been able to maintain those numbers,” Statler said. “Our patrol team, they’re working so hard and have a lot of overtime to make sure the city is covered the way that they expect us to be covered.”
Staffing issues have hit police departments around the country since 2020, which several police leaders have credited to the twofold hit of the coronavirus pandemic and increased scrutiny and criticism of police that came after the killing of George Floyd by a police officer in Minnesota.
In Rockford, the shortage of officers was also part of what led to a surplus in the city’s budget in 2022. The police department’s spending was about $3.2 million under budget, and about half of that was attributed to open officer jobs.
A survey conducted by the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police showed that resignations at the 239 responding police agencies increased about 65% in 2021 and retirements ticked up by 7% from 2020.
That survey, conducted in 2022, showed that 60% of agencies were not fully staffed and about two in 10 departments had a staffing shortage of more than 10% of their authorized strength. With the latest hires, the Rockford Police Department now has a shortage of about 7% of its authorized strength.
“There’s national incidents that took place that didn’t do law enforcement any favors,” Police Chief Carla Redd said. “I always say that no one dislikes a bad cop more than a good cop. It means something to put this badge on every day.”
Redd became the city’s 13th chief of police in August 2021, and the department was down about 25 officers at the time. She’s worked to ramp up recruitment with new technology and added more hiring cycles.
“Each hiring process helps us get toward that goal we’re trying to achieve,” Redd said.
She said recruitment is a constant process, and urges people considering a job in law enforcement to inquire about a ride along.
Statler said the last application window delivered the highest number of responses in nearly two years. However, she said the number who were qualified after the testing and evaluation process was still roughly the same as during other periods of the staffing shortage. In some cases, applications weren’t filled out correctly, or the applicant couldn’t pass the physical exam.
“Even though we do need those 20-plus officers that we’ve talked about, the Rockford Police Department is not going to lower our standards to get them,” Statler said.
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What’s next
The four new recruits will spend 16 weeks training in Champaign before returning here for what’s called City School, a six- to eight-week program that breaks down the city’s ordinances and the departments rules and practices.
They then begin training with officers in the field.
“Our department is known for the training that they get,” Statler said. “Our guys and girls that we hire it’s almost 12 months before they’re in a squad car by themselves, and you won’t hear that probably from almost any other department. We want to make sure that the citizens of Rockford have the best that we can get.”
The department is also beginning its next round of hiring, with the application window now open.
New officers
Matthew Evans: A former sergeant with the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department in Tennessee. He has a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Bethel University in McKenzie, Tennessee. He received an honorable discharge from the United States Army and is now serving in the Army Reserves.
Karly Garton: A Boylan Catholic High School graduate who earned her bachelor’s degree at Edgewood College in Madison, Wisconsin. She was previously employed by the Rockford Fire Department as a 911 dispatcher.
Osvaldo Rodriguez: A graduate of East Aurora High School in Aurora who earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Robert Morris University in Moon Township, Pennsylvania. He was employed by Starcon International.
Kyle Kling: A Harlem High School graduate who earned a bachelor’s degree from Southern Illinois University. He previously worked as a corrections officer for the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Department.
Garrett Petty: A graduate of North Boone High School in Boone County. He previously worked as a security officer at OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center.
Interested in becoming an officer?
If you’re interested in joining the Rockford Police Department you can text JOINRPD to 815-473-8383 or fill out a job interest card HERE.
More info is available at rpdwantsyou.com.
This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on X at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas and Threads @thekevinhaas